Relative poverty: Share of population below 60% of the median in China
China: Relative poverty: Share of population below 60% of the median was 19.9% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Relative poverty: Share of population below 60% of the median in China, 1981–2022
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median in China is 19.9%, measured in 2022.
That represents a change of up 2.2% on the previous year and down 23.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median in China peaked at 27.0% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 14.9%, in 1981.
China ranks 43rd of 120 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Relative poverty: Share of population below 60% of the median in China, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 14.9% | — |
| 1984 | 15.8% | +5.8% |
| 1987 | 18.0% | +14.0% |
| 1990 | 15.7% | -12.8% |
| 1993 | 15.9% | +1.5% |
| 1996 | 19.6% | +22.7% |
| 1999 | 22.0% | +12.3% |
| 2002 | 24.8% | +12.8% |
| 2005 | 24.0% | -3.1% |
| 2008 | 26.5% | +10.4% |
| 2010 | 27.0% | +2.0% |
| 2011 | 25.7% | -4.9% |
| 2012 | 26.0% | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 23.2% | -11.1% |
| 2014 | 23.2% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 22.7% | -2.2% |
| 2016 | 22.5% | -0.8% |
| 2017 | 22.8% | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 22.4% | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 21.7% | -3.3% |
| 2020 | 20.2% | -7.0% |
| 2021 | 19.5% | -3.4% |
| 2022 | 19.9% | +2.2% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 19.9% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 19.9%, 1.0× the median. (35 countries reporting)
- China's 19.9% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 17.5%, 1.1× the median. (11 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 16.2% | 14.9% | 18.0% | 3 |
| 1990s | 18.3% | 15.7% | 22.0% | 4 |
| 2000s | 25.1% | 24.0% | 26.5% | 3 |
| 2010s | 23.7% | 21.7% | 27.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.9% | 19.5% | 20.2% | 3 |
Countries ranked near China
More poverty & inequality data for China
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 7 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 0.999 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 6,418 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate 0.5767 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 22.1 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 22.1% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median in China?
- Relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median in China was 19.9% in 2022, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 27.0% in 2010.
- What is the lowest relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.9% in 1981.
- How does China rank for relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median?
- China ranks 43rd out of 120 countries with data for 2022.
- Is relative poverty: share of population below 60% of the median rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 23.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Relative poverty: Share of population below 60% of the median. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below 60% of the median.